The Unknown Warrior
by Mairen
Summary: Chapter 4 up! Circumstances force Lily to disguise herself in order to attend Hogwarts. What happens when someone finds out (in the form of a male student? PLEASE RR!
1. The Letter

**Disclaimer**:  The only things that's mine is the plot.  And Mr. & Mrs. Evans' first names.  =o)

**A/N**:  So I wrote (at least the beginning of) this fic a long time ago, and I never really got around to posting it anywhere, so I hope ya'll like it! It starts out really slow at first, but I PROMISE it will get a million times more interesting! And we're off…………

**~*The Unknown Warrior*~**

**Chapter 1: **The Letter****

She was in a room filled with black people walking mindlessly about her.  In vain she tried to stop and ask where she was, for each just walked on, ignoring her.  A flash of blue caught her eyes, something glinted in the distance.  She started to make her way through the masses to see where the color was coming from, but all she could see was black.  She stopped in her tracks and craned her neck to see over the black hordes, but nothing caught her eye.  Suddenly something grabbed her arm, and she whirled around to see who it was………

Only to wake up from falling out of her bed.  Lily Evans winced as her warm body hit the freezing floor.  'It's really about time I get a carpet in her', she thought to herself as she dragged her body up off the ground.  She had had that dream many times before, and was having almost nightly now.  At first she tried to figure out what was going on, but she had stopped trying quite a long time ago.  Pulling on socks, shorts and a T-shirt, she pulled her long dark red hair out of a braid and fluffed it with her hands.  It fell in large curls, framing her face, and she smiled as she glanced in her full-length mirror on her door.  With quick hands, she dragged a brush through it and pulled it back into a ponytail.  It was the very early morning, and her lavender room had a ghostly look to it in the semi-darkness, casting shadows on the walls and furniture.  She turned the doorknob and slowly opened the creaking door, careful not to wake her parents or her sister.  She loved this time of the day.  It was quiet, and no one was around to bother her (like her sister Petunia did, and very often).  She crept down the stairs, the maroon carpeting muffling her footsteps.  When she finally got to the kitchen, she turned on lights, threw a piece of toast in the toaster and poured herself a glass of orange juice.  She grabbed it as it popped up, ate it quickly, and downed her orange juice in a few gulps.  With that, she was out the door.

Lily's sister Petunia would mock any gesture that involved getting up before at least 8 o' clock and maybe even resort to violence, so Lily turned around to make sure Petunia's light was still of in her room.  Petunia was quite popular at school for her almost always perfectly done hair and makeup, and many worshiped her, even if it was only for her snotty, arrogant behavior.  She would dump even the closest of friends if they sacrificed her reputation in any way and lately (for the past three years) had not really been on speaking terms with her sister. Lily didn't really mind this much; the only things Petunia had to say to her before were insults or she was forced to say by her parents.  Giggling at her sister's arrogance, Lily began to run.

Running was Lily's escape.  When she was running, everything was fine, no one was around her, and nothing stressed her out.  Jogging, she hit a long stretch of road and started to sprint.  She ran up an easily sloping grassy hill and right up to an enormous tree.  She climbed the rungs of wood she has set in place herself and lifted her body onto a branch.  She looked down at her hands and memories from the day before flowed back into her mind.  

She was at school, and all the kids were playing kickball in the soccer (or football, depending on where you're from) field.  Lily wasn't exactly the most adept kickball player, and while she could kick that ball pretty far, her aim was always off in throwing it.  Someone on the other team kicked the ball right to her, and when she threw it to the pitcher, it landed about ten feet to short and completely in the wrong direction.  The pitcher, a mean boy named Shane, saw the ball sitting far from him and he sneered.  He turned to the rest of the team and said angrily, "We shouldn't let **her** play anymore, she always messes the game up.  She can't even throw a ball!  No wonder she doesn't have any friends, the wench."

Lily listened as the whole team burst out in laughter and her eyes narrowed in anger and frustration.  She really wasn't the type who would cry over things, and she figured now really wasn't the time to start.  At that moment, the forgotten ball flew up in the air and slammed Shane right where it hurt………hard.  He doubled over in pain and the whole field went silent.  Then, in the midst of the silence, one word fell out of someone's mouth: "freak".  There was giggling, then laughing as other people yelled it louder "freak!".  Whirling around as the mocking and laughing encompassed her, Lily kicked the ground angrily and ran back to school, grabbed her things to run home.  

Some may wonder why she wasn't surprised the ball hit Shane, but Lily definitely wasn't.  Things like this were always happening to her, and had been for as long as she could remember.  That was the real reason she didn't have any friends.  People were completely scared of her ever since the third grade when a whole bucket of red paint had thrown itself on Chrissy Egan after she called Lily "Frog eyes" and cracked jokes about Lily marrying the class frog.  

She sat up there and watched the sun rise slowly over the horizon, painting the sky in reds and oranges.  She was staring at the leafy branches when a voice came up to her from below, startling her so much that she almost fell out of the tree.  Where had he come from?

"I can see why you like it up there," said a rather oddly dressed man, his blue eyes twinkling at her beneath half-moon spectacles.  He had a white beard that fell to chest-level, and was wearing what appeared to be purple robes, only slightly different than a robe in appearance.  

Suspicious, Lily said, "Yes, it's quiet up here and you can watch the sun come up."

The man glanced toward the sun and looked back at her, his eyes still twinkling.  "I find, at my tree at home, that it provides an escape from the more extraordinary happenings in life."

Lily gaped at him.  How could he have known?  "ex-ex-extraordinary happenings?" she managed to stutter.

"Why yes, of course," he replied, smiling knowingly and nodding his head.  "Do you ever feel as if you don't belong here, Lily?"  He asked questioningly.

For some reason Lily felt completely comfortable around this man now, and didn't even notice that he knew her name.  

"How did you know?" she asked, still in disbelief.  

"Let's just say I had a little help," he said, pulling what appeared to be a wooden stick out of his robes.  "This is what you are, Lily.  This is what you can do," the strange man explained, brandishing the stick.  He said some words under his breath and suddenly Lily was floating slowly to the ground from her tree.

She landed softly on her feet, and looked at him with her eyes wide. "Who are you? **What** are you?"

Well, formally I am Albus Dumbledore……….but more importantly I am a wizard.

"Wi-wizard?" she asked incredously.  Then she burst out laughing so hard her eyes were welling up.  

"Do strange things ever happen to you, Lily?  Things that cannot be explained by the laws of nature or science?" he asked seriously.

She stopped laughing abruptly.  "Like what?"

"Like the incident with the ball yesterday, erm, hitting one of your friends?" he questioned, his eyes twinkling again.  

"How do you know about **that**, too?" she asked in awe.

"I know almost everything about you.  You have been on the list for Hogwarts since you were born, and every magical thing that you do goes down with the accidental magic board at the ministry.  Why, even yesterday Dobbins was telling me about this muggle boy who………" he trailed off when he saw the look of disbelief on Lily's face.

"Hogwarts?  What's that?" Lily wanted to know.

"Ahhh, yes.  That brings me to my next point quite well.  Here's your letter.  They're usually brought by owl post and come later in the summer, but this case is quite different, as you are muggle-born and are of muggle descent."

Muggle-born?  Owl post?  Wizard? The words whirled around in Lily's mind.  "So am I………....am I……..…a……...." she stumbled over her words.

"Why yes! You are a witch, Lily" he said, cheeks red with happiness and pride.

Lily just stared at her letter, mouth wide open.  She started reading it. "You have been accepted to Hogwarts' School of Witchcraft and Wizardry………First years will need 1 cauldron (black, pewter), 1 wand………the list went on.

"So this is for real? It isn't a joke or anything?" 

"Of course not!  However I daresay that if it were a joke it would be quite a jolly one indeed!"

A sudden grin broke across her face.  She could get away from all those people!  Her sister!  "When do I start?"

He seemed crestfallen at these words, "Erm, well, actually I had to come here to break some rather unpleasant news to you, Lily.  You see, unbeknownst to most wizards, a dark wizard is rising through the ranks seizing power where he can and………getting rid of those he doesn't.  You see, he believes that the only good wizard is a pureblood, which of course is nonsense for he himself isn't even pureblood, and he has been getting rid of those who aren't, namely muggles and muggle-born--"

She interrupted him, "muggle?"  
  


The seriousness of his tone stayed intact "non-magic folk.  And since you are one, and the only muggle-born this year, I am very unfortunate to have to tell you that you will be needing a………disguise for school.  For your own protection.  He has followers even inside the walls of Hogwarts, and din order to ensure you complete safety, you will become someone else."

"Someone else?  How so?" she asked, still trying to figure out the situation.

"Namely another wizard" he said, waiting for her reaction.

She paced the dewy grass, wringing her hands.  This was happening so fast!  First she finds out she's a witch brought up in a world outside the one she should be in, that she's going to transfer school, and now that she will be hunted by some psycho wizard who wants to kill her, and that she needs to go into disguise to avoid it?  This was too crazy.  She pinched herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming and fell on her butt into the wet grass.  

"Who will I become?" she said, still in shock.

"Unfortunately, there is only one wizard who comes from a well-known wizarding family and is your age.  He died in an unfortunate muggle accident a year ago, and practically no one knows of his death yet, or had met him much beforehand.  Now it is only our luck that he had red hair, so I'm sure you'll fit right in."

She glanced up at him, her piercingly green eyes boring into him "A **boy**? That's what I have to be disguised as?"

"Yes, it was the only way, Lily." He said, closing his eyes slightly. 

Lily thought over her situation.  Stay here, brave her social-climbing sister and the kids at school who were afraid to be near her, or disguise herself as a boy and attend a school where she belongs, and has a clean reputation (not being branded as the "freak")?

"It is also because your being a witch may put your own family at risk" he said slightly, as not to put too much pressure on the statement.

Lily's eyes shut, her full mouth slightly parted.  They blinked open, her bright green ones locking with his blue. "I'll do it."

**A/N**: Chapter one complete!  I promise the story will get more interesting………just bear with me here!  Oh, and sorry for any mistakes in here, I am terrible at proofreading.  **See that beautiful little purple button below?  PUSH IT!!! =o)**


	2. Reactions

**Disclaimer**: Nothing is mine, unfortunately.  JK Rowling owns all the characters and only the plot is mine.  

**~*The Unknown Warrior*~**

**Chapter 2: **Reactions****

Albus Dumbledore looked down at Lily Evans kindly, "I believe your parents may be missing you Lily, it is about………" he looked down at a strange watch with rotating suns and planets "eight."

"Eight o'clock?  Already?  We need to go!" said Lily in exasperation, and she started running towards the house.  "Mister Dumbledore, c'mon!"

His blue eyes sparkled with laughter, "I'll meet you there, Lily.  First I have some business to take care of elsewhere.  I will meet you at your house at nine.  Please do not speak to your parents of this yet, for I'm not sure if they'll believe you."

Lily stopped in her tracks, "You promise you'll come back?"

He smiled, "I promise."  And with that, he disappeared into thin air.  Lily gasped and stared for a minute, but then heard her mother calling her name and ran off towards her house in the distance. 

~*~*~*~

When Lily arrived home, bacon was cooking on the stove and her parents were sitting at the wooden kitchen table.  Her father looked up at her from reading the newspaper. "Fabulous morning, eh?  I always loved that tree when I grew up," he said, leaning back.  He was a tall sort of man, with dancing green eyes and curly dark brown hair that always wanted to go straight up.  People at his law office joked that the only reason he won so often was because his hair would frighten all the witnesses into telling him everything.  Mrs. Evans was quite a different story.  She had beautiful long copper hair that fell gracefully down her back, and she two had piercing green eyes beneath lush eyelashes.  Without a doubt she was the most beautiful woman Lily had ever seen, and she fingered her own dark red hair, hoping that one day it would be as pretty as her mothers'. 

Lily's mind began to wander, wondering of the world she knew practically nothing of.  Truth be told, she was somewhat frightened by the prospect of going there, not only because of the fact that she knew nothing of it, but also because of the 'Dark Wizard' Albus Dumbledore had told her about.  It's not everyday you find out that you are a highly potential victim for a murderer.

"Honey?" her mother's worried voice startled her out of her thoughts.  "Are you alright?  You look as though you had seen a ghost." 

Lily giggled at the thought of ghosts.  Perhaps there was such a thing in the wizarding world?  "No mum, everything's perfectly fine."  The corners of her mouth curved upward slightly.

Mrs. Evans saw the smile and immediately swooped down to her daughter and pressed an elegant hand on her forehead.  "Are you sure?  You're acting so strange."  Suddenly her eyes narrowed in anger.  "It's that Shane kid, isn't it.  Is he bothering you again?"

"No, mum!  I swear, everything is perfectly fine!  I am fine, dad is fine, you are fine!" Lily said, exasperated.  She sighed and leaned back as her sister Petunia glided down the stairs, her head held high.  Muttering under her breath, Lily said, "Petunia on the other hand………"  Mr. Evans' heard the comment and his eyes peeked up from over his paper in amusement. 

Petunia, not saying a word, walked huffily over to the table and sat down between Lily and her father.  "Good morning, I suppose," she declared haughtily, rolling her eyes slightly.  

" 'Morning, sunshine!" Lily replied in mock happiness.  

Petunia glared down at her sister beneath furrowed eyebrows.   "You really shouldn't smile, Lils.  It makes you look like a chipmunk.  No wonder you don't have a boyfriend," she sneered.  

Mrs. Evans looked at her oldest daughter in surprise.  "Petunia!" she exclaimed, dropping a piece of bacon onto the spotless stone floor.  "Apologize to your sister, now."

Petunia raised an eyebrow and sighed with impatience.  There was no way out of this one.  Mrs. Evans just sat there staring at her daughter, one hand on her hip and the other pointing and brandishing the spatula at Petunia in a scolding fashion.  With no emotion she turned to Lily and said "sorry".  Lily knew she didn't mean it one bit and barely even took notice.  In fact, she had barely even taken any notice of the original comment.  Ever since they were about nine Petunia had been uncivil to her, and even now she didn't take anything Petunia said to heart.  Petunia had decided at that young age that being related to Lily and acknowledging this relation would result in her social destruction, so she became cold towards her sister.  In a way Lily missed the old Petunia, but always tried not to think about it.  The people at school were enough for her to think about.

"That's better," said Mrs. Evans, her mood brightening considerably as she returned to the sizzling bacon.  

The rest of breakfast proceeded in almost absolute silence.  Mr. Evans would make a comment or two about the state of the economy in England, and Mrs. Evans would make a comment or two back, but Petunia simply glared at her sister and Lily was spaced out, lost in her thoughts.  

These thoughts were immediately interrupted with a knocking on the front door.  A quick glance at the clock assured Lily that it was, in fact, nine and she sat impatiently as her mother got up with a "now who could that be?".  

A few minutes later, there were muffled voices and a high-pitched gasp of surprise.  Footsteps echoed through the hallway coming closer to the kitchen, and Lily lowered her head, pretending to be wholly absorbed in her breakfast.  

Albus Dumbledore walked through the swinging kitchen door behind Mrs. Evans, still wearing the beaming expression he had on when he first spoke to Lily.  Mrs. Evans, however, could hardly contain her excitement.

"Oh, you will never guess what! Mr. Dumble………" she looked to Albus for affirmation 

"Dumbledore," he said. 

Petunia giggled rudely at the name.  Lily gave her a sharp look.  

"Thank you.  Mr. Dumbledore here has just told me that Lily has been accepted to a highly exclusive school!  Can you believe it, Wills (Mr. Evans)?  Highly exclusive!"  Mrs. Evans exclaimed, clasping her hands with happiness.

Mr. Evans looked at his wife in amusement.  "Highly selective, Violet darling?"

"Oh yes!  It's the only one of its kind in all of England!" Mrs. Evans said, a bright smile plastered on her face.  

Lily was trying very hard not to contain her laughter at this point.  Petunia was distraught between annoyance at her mother and sister and complete laughter at this man and his clothing.  The result was a complete look of, sadly enough, constipation.  Dumbledore, in the meantime, had taken the liberty to sit down and had drawn from beneath his robes a single letter, with a crest in the corner.  Lily already knew what was in this letter, and smiled broadly at Albus Dumbldore, who was waiting patiently for Mrs. Evans to calm down.

She eventually did after making everyone tea and putting a batch of cookies in the oven.  She sat down with everyone at the kitchen table and looked at Mr. Dumbledore kindly.  "Now, what did you say the name was of this highly selective school that Lily has been accepted to?" she asked innocently.

Albus Dumbledore's eyes twinkled brightly as he looked at her.  "I didn't, Mrs. Evans.  You see, Lily was born with a gift most people in this world don't possess.  I am very pleased to inform you that Lily Evans has been accepted to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Silence ensued after this extraordinary statement.  A second later, the only sounds that could be heard were the breaking of a teapot as Mrs. Evans dropped it and the howling laughter that erupted from Petunia.

**A/N**: And that's chapter 2!  Lily will very soon be at Hogwarts, never fear.  Thanks to all my reviewers, you made my day complete!


	3. Departure and Diagon Alley

**Disclaimer**: I own nothing, JK owns everything. I am just the poor, lowlife writer who makes no money off of what she does and sadly, only the plot is mine (although I owe the idea to Tamora Pierce). I wish I owned Harry, though, or at least borrowed him for a night or two………evil gleam

**The Unknown Warrior**

**Chapter 3**: **Departure and Diagon Alley**

It took about a week for Lily's parents to get used to the idea of her being a witch. After Albus Dumbledore had explained the whole thing to them including the school and the entire wizarding world, they were overjoyed with happiness.

The only disappointment they suffered was when Albus Dumbledore told them of the drastic measures they were going to have to take in order for Lily to attend Hogwarts. They reluctantly gave consent only after Dumbledore gave an extensive speech on the necessity for her safety. He didn't mention, however, that it was for their own safety as well.

Petunia had looked at them like they were mad. "Lily? A _boy_? How could you agree to such a thing! I will be the laughingstock of my entire school! Not to mention the fact that Lily is enough of a freak already!" she exclaimed, stomping her foot down on the ground.

"Petunia! For the love of God control yourself! You must remember that this is a secret, and _no one_ can find out about this. Understood?" demanded her mother in exasperation.

"Like I would tell anyone about my freak of a sister! I would be ruined!" cried Petunia, glaring at her mother and stomping up the stairs loudly as if making sure that everyone in the house clearly heard every step.

"I'm sorry about that, er, interruption Mr. Dumbledore," said Mr. Evans calmly, folding his newspaper neatly and setting it on the cherry coffee table.

Albus Dumbledore took the criticism well, not saying much to or about Petunia. He just sat there smiling seriously with that trademark twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Er, what will need to be done before Lily goes off to school in September?" Mr. Evans wanted to know.

"Oh yes, thank you for reminding me, Mr. Evans," said Dumbledore kindly. "Lily will need to make her transformation before we take her to Diagon Alley to get her school things on that list. There is only one place near here to get that, and that place is Diagon Alley."

"Transformation? So we need to make her into a boy, right? Oh my, that would involve a trip to the barber's, and new clothes, and practice acting like a boy………" Mrs. Evans drifted off when she saw her husband laughing silently at her. "What?" she demanded, eyes narrowing.

"Oh, nothing……….it's just I think that Lily can manage with a pair of new clothes and a haircut. I don't think she needs male etiquette practice," said Mr. Evans, his laughter fading to forced seriousness when he saw the look on Mrs. Evans' face.

"Well, fine. No lessons then. You'll be sorry when she's at school, though………" The conversation progressed like this, Mrs. Evans with her obsessive worrying habits and Mr. Evans with his mock seriousness. All Lily could do was giggle at the sight of her parents' exchange.

Finally after a few minutes of this Albus Dumbledore cleared his throat and rose. "I apologize for my interruption, but I must get going. Your tea was excellent, Mrs. Evans. The best I've had since Abigail Figg treated me to some a few years back, and I pride myself in being both an avid tea drinker and sock collector." Mrs. Evans blushed with pride at this complement, but at the same time looked confused at the sock comment. She chose wisely, however, not to say anything. Dumbledore continued, "Rubeus Hagrid, my entrusted groundskeeper at Hogwarts will be by to collect Lily on July 31 to take her to Diagon Alley and then a room at the Leakey Cauldron. She has a lot to learn about our world, and we are hoping that Hagrid can enlighten her sufficiently. Oh, and your new identity will be that of the boy Liam Weasley. The Weasley's are extraordinarily nice people, and you will meet them once you get to Diagon Alley. With that in tow, Lily, I wish you a happy haircutting and a happy eleventh birthday. Ten days, if I'm not mistaken?"

Lily nodded slightly, smiling with a pleased, "Thanks", and Albus Dumbledore walked out the door and into the dusk with the swish of his cloak, seemingly disappearing into thin air. Lily shook her head to clear what must be faulty eyes and closed the door behind him.

The next day found Lily outside sitting on stone bench in front of her house, usually a place where she sat and read from one of her many books. But today, a few tourists walked by with their cameras, and snapped a few pictures of a Real Live British Girl Reading on a Stone Bench. Lily glared at them, and at the tour guide, but she was used to it. Her town, Naunton, was in the Cotswolds of England where all the old-fashioned stone houses were in the country. People (usually annoying Americans) took tour buses through each town for the day, walked through the downtown area and bought postcards to send back to their families. Living right outside the town, some tour guides took tourists down her street to look at the Quaint Little Houses. The people all trooped by, some pointing at her, and she sighed and stood up, walking up the short cobblestone path and straight into her house.

Petunia was sitting in the living room with one of her friends, a bowl of popcorn in hand. She walked into the room, and took a seat in one of the red-fabric chairs, asking, "what are you watching?".

Silence followed her question.

"I said, what are you watching?" she repeated.

Her friend, Sophie Saxton, tucked a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, turned to Lily and said in a scathing voice, "She's not talking to you."

Lily looked at her sister, "I see. And when did this start?"

Her sister kept her eyes glued to the TV. "Bye now, Lily. Have fun at freak school."

Sophie turned to her, "I thought she was just going to boarding school?"

"Oh, yeah…" Petunia stumbled, "Well, any boarding school _she_ goes to is a freak school." And then they laughed together, laughing at Lily's expense like they always do.

_You just wait, _thought Lily. _Just wait until I'm a witch, and then we'll see who's laughing at who_. Lily sat up, surprised at her own thoughts. She didn't know how much she disliked her sister until today. Before, Petunia had always just pretended Lily wasn't there, but lately she spent every waking moment insulting, laughing at and making fun of Lily. She especially enjoyed doing this in front of other people. Apparently the revelation that Lily was a witch only caused Petunia to treat Lily even worse. Lily sat back into the chair, determined to not let Petunia know how much her words had bothered her by leaving.

Lily and her friends were those girls people always stare at in the street because they look like they're trying to be much older than they are. They always wore their designer and faux-designer clothing, wore make-up and generally…_strutted_ around like they owned the world. Despite Petunia's only being two years older than Lily, she acted as if she weren't thirteen, but more like sixteen. Sophie was the real popular girl in their school, having every boys in school wrapped around her finger, but Petunia followed close behind by being her best friend. Sophie was mainly the most popular girl because she was absolutely gorgeous, with her wavy blonde hair, tanned skin and icy blue eyes. She, unlike Petunia, had matured early and did actually look like she could be sixteen. Petunia, while being pretty, was nothing like Sophie and still looked thirteen. Lily figured she tried to make up for her lack of maturity by acting icy towards everyone around her. She glanced away from _American Grafitti_ to look at her sister, who was eating only one piece of popcorn a minute to maintain her "figure", something she had recently started with Sophie. Lily, who was usually the one to grab the popcorn and hog it, couldn't understand Petunia's body issues, but never said anything to her.

"Lily, honey," her mother's voice floated in from the other room "is that you walking in the door? Could you come and talk to me for a second?"

"Coming, Mum" she called back, getting up from the chair and ignoring the annoyed look her sister had thrown her.

_I guess this is how it's going to be between me and her from now on_ Lily thought, and to her surprise, she was actually saddened a little by it. And with that, she walked away from her sister and into the kitchen.

The days rolled on by, and July 31 approached and arrived before anyone even knew it.

Lily woke up that morning to a loud bang on her front door. She sat up straight in bed, glancing at her wall calendar and fingering her short hair. Today was the day! She bolted out of her bed, threw her new boys' clothes on and threw herself down the stairs to the front door. With a grin she pulled it open to reveal the biggest man she had ever seen. Her mouth dropped wide open and she just stood there, staring.

Rubeus Hagrid didn't seem to notice this odd behavior. His mouth broke into a smile when he saw her and he leaned down and said to her, "Well, yeh must be little Lily Evans!" his voice dropped to a whisper, "Or should I say Liam Weasley? Don't worry, yeh're secrets safe with me," he said grinning. "On'y me an' Dumbledore know yer secret, and we'll make sure it stays tha'way. Great man, Dumbledore t' entrust me with somethin' like this."

Lily just stood there, staring at his massive form. Finally Hagrid looked at her and saw her stare. "Hey, yeh alrigh' there Lily? Lily?" he wondered, waving a hand in front of her eyes. That definitely pulled her out of her trance and she blinked in embarrassment.

"Oh, sorry. Come in, please," Lily said to him politely, sidestepping out of the doorway. Hagrid ducked through the doorframe and stepped one huge boot into the house. At that moment Mrs. Evans came running down the stairs fully dressed but looking disheveled with Mr. Evans in tow with that signature calm look he always had. She got to the bottom of the stairs and looked straight ahead. Her head slowly moved upward and by the time she got to Hagrid's head, she fainted into Mr. Evan's arms.

Mr. Evans seemed a little disturbed by his wife's light-headedness, but not by Hagrid's stature. With one hand he held his wife and the other he held out to Hagrid.

"Welcome! Rubeus Hagrid, I suppose, groundskeeper at Hogwarts?" Mr. Evans asked, shaking Hagrid's huge hand.

"Yep, Keeper of the Keys, that's me. Great man, Dumbledore, great man. Well, I'm here to take little Lil-er, Liam here to Diagon Alley for her clothes and books. Yeh ready, Liam? I better get used ter callin' yeh that. Lily will catch too quickly, and I don' want ter be messin' up any secrets at Hogwarts," he said thoughtfully, "we better get goin' or we'll miss the day, Liam!"

"Er, alright. I'll run upstairs and get my trunk, I guess," said Lily, doing just that. Once she had dragged it downstairs, she bade her parents one last goodbye, didn't see Petunia so she didn't bother with her, and walked out the door.

Their trip into London was, to say in the least, interesting. Hagrid squeezed himself into the trains and took up two seats sitting down. People kept staring at them, but Lily didn't mind too much. She hadn't been into London too often, and on this particular trip she was seeing things she had never seen before, like little shops and she was noticing people in cloaks. Finally, after what seemed like miles Hagrid stopped in front of a grubby little pub.

"Well, Liam, here we are. The Leaky Cauldron. Known on'y by us wizard-folk and such. Yeh'll like it 'ere, no doubt," Hagrid said, saying hello to a few wizards on the way in.

Lily, however, was almost on the point of a nervous breakdown. What if someone noticed she was a girl? Was she being to obvious in how she walked? She tried to swagger a bit like a man until some woman gave her a funny look. Lily quickly reverted to her own inconspicuous style of walking.

"Well, no use dragging this 'ere trunk around anymore. I'm sure an el………and 'ere's one now!" Hagrid said, pointing to a strange smallish creature with saucer-like eyes and huge floppy ears. It was wearing a bleached white outfit and bowed to Hagrid once it got close enough.

"Would yeh take this to Liam Weasley's room fer me?" Hagrid asked the small creature.

The thing smiled, showing whitish teeth. "With pleasure, sir. Nally is taking this to Mr. Liam's room right aways," she (judging from the abnormally high voice) said, taking the trunk from Hagrid and disappearing with the crack of a whip.

Lily cleared her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing anything. "Did she………I mean, was that………"

Hagrid nodded with a smile. "Yeh, that was a house elf, and a really well-treated one, too. They usually aren' clean like that, but they're always that eager. Strange creatures, house elves. Oh, and yeh, that was magic. House elves can disappear like that when they want. Wizards need a wand, though," he said quietly, looking down at Lily benignly. "Anyways, we oughta get to buyin' yer stuff, eh?"

"Where are we going to find a cauldron and a wand and stuff?" Lily wanted to know. A look from Hagrid quickly silenced her. She was supposed to know about things like this, being a boy from an old wizarding family and all!

"Diagon Alley, 'o course!" exclaimed Hagrid.

**A/N**: I know, I haven't updated in….well, in about a year. Sorry! I will be updating much more frequently from now on!


	4. Wizards and Weasleys

A/N: Yes, I realize I haven't updated in about….well, in about a year. I have no idea why I let this sit around for so long…but I promise I will be updating often from now on! This chapter's a little short because I decided to rewrite a lot of chapter 3, but much, much more is on its way!

**The Unknown Warrior**

**Chapter 4**: **Wizards and Weasleys**

Lily walked through the archway to Diagon Alley in delight as wizards bustled around her in cloaks and shops were lined with the most unimaginable items and things ever. Hagrid seemed unimpressed by these things and steered Lily towards a store called _Madam Malkin's_, while he headed off to Flourish and Blott's, a bookstore. "Now your jus' get yer robes and I'll be back with yer books," Hagrid said, walking away from her down the bustling alley.

"Howarts, hun?" came a voice from behind her. She looked up into the eyes of an extraordinarily large woman with sleek black hair. "Er, yes. Is this where I get my robes?" Lily asked, unsure.

"Of course! Now, just step up there and I'll get you fitted. Lucius, the boy right there will help you," she said absentmindedly, bustling to the back of the store.

Practically panicking, Lily slowly slid to the back of the store. What if she had to take off her clothes? She would be discovered and then she and her parents would be murdered by the evil psycho man! She stepped up onto a low pedestal next to who she supposed was Lucius, her hands shaking uncontrollably. He was a thin blonde boy with sharp grey eyes and a sneer on his face.

"What, you got a tick or something? You really should get that checked out sometime. People will think you inadequate," he said coolly, he face still twisted into the sneer.

Madam Malkin came bustling back in with robes and she promptly began checking the hem on Lucius's robes.

"I'm assuming that you're going to Hogwarts, too," Lucius continued, not giving Lily a chance to contradict his previous statement. "What's your name, anyway?" he wanted to know. "Higher. The hem must be higher!"

Madam Malkin glanced up at him as he ordered her around.

"Li………er, Liam. Liam Weasley," Lily replied, her voice wavering. She had come to the conclusion that she officially hated this boy.

"Weasley?" Lucius laughed snidely. "God, I shouldn't even bother talking to you. Everyone knows the Weasleys is the family that gives us purebloods bad names, at least since that Muggle-lover Arthur came along. I feel very, _very_ sorry that you should be born into a family like that. Although you're probably the same as all of them. Worthless," he said casually, his eyes wandering down to brush a spot of dust off his new robes.

Lily's face heated up. "Is that so? Then why are you standing here talking to me if I'm so worthless? Apparently I'm not fit to stand in the same room as you, so maybe you should consider leaving since it seems you have such a problem with my family?" she said, her fists clenched at her sides. Lucius gave her a sharp look and was still for a moment

"Oh my," came a voice from below as a tearing sound was heard. "Lucius, the hem on your robes just ripped. You'll have to stay a few minutes longer. Liam, dear, you're free to go though," Madam Malkin proclaimed as she brandished her wand to fix the rip. Lily could have sworn that the large woman winked at her before bowing her head to busy herself in her work.

Lily quickly stepped off the pedestal, wanting to get out of that place as fast as she could. As she walked out the door, she tried to ignore the incessant complaining she heard coming from Malfoy about the length of time that it was taking the woman to fix the tear.

Hagrid met her outside the shop with an armful of books. "Alrigh', I've got yer books, and I also stopped past some stores to get yeh yer supplies, so I guess now all we've got left is yer wand," he said, carrying the texts as if they weighed nothing. "And then soon enough, yeh'll be off to Hogwarts!" He exclaimed. "Greatest place on Earth if I do say so meself."

After encountering Mr. Ollivander (who stared at her strangely for a moment until she found her wand, and then a dawning look of comprehension came over his face), Hagrid took a very unsettled Lily back to the Leaky Cauldron and into her room.

"Well, here are yer rooms, Liam. The Weasleys will be comin' up in a second ter meet yeh, so I expect they'll be knockin' on yer door sometime soon. They'll explain everything from there!"

"Thanks Hagrid!" Lily said, running up and giving him a hug.

Hagrid hugged her back and then put his massive hands on her shoulders. "Now, be good, and I'll be seein' yeh tomorrow at Hogwarts!"

Lily watched his massive form duck through the doorframe, and then turn around to wink at her before closing the door behind him. Turning from the door, Lily surveyed her surroundings. Her trunk and newly bought school supplies had been deposited at the foot of her massive canopy bed. The room was clean, but it had that feeling of being very, very old. The floorboards beneath her feet were warped with age, and the hangings on her bed had holes in some parts of them. Interesting that there would be such flaws in a wizarding hotel. She had seen many people doing magic in Diagon Alley, and it seemed so simple to just wave a wand and fix the problems. For the first time in a day, she had nothing to do. She sat on the bed for a moment and played her hair, looking at the door. When no knock came, she got up and stooped down to her school things and found a book to read. "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, by Miranda Goshawk," she read to herself, cracked open the massive book, and began reading.

She was reading about Doxies when a sharp knock on the door made her jump from the edge of the bed. She replaced the book to her things and walked excitedly to the door, which she opened to find a hallway full of freckled, red-headed people.

The moment she opened the door, the tall, middle-aged woman walked right up to Lily and gave her a huge hug. "You must be…Liam" she said, releasing her. "I'm Ginny Weasley, Liam's mother." A shadow passed across her face when she said Lily's new name. But before Lily could say something, Ginny had surged forward. "I guess I'm you new mother. Welcome to the family!" And with that, she found herself enveloped by a wave of redheads.

A/N: Yes, I realize I haven't updated in about….well, in about a year. I have no idea why I let this sit around for so long…but I promise I will be updating often from now on!


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